Corn husker



O. BOYER CORN HUSKER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 17, 1923.

i ATTORNEY `o. BQYER CORN HUS KER July 17, 1923. I

' FiledvADIil 29 1920 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, lzzelayer;

WITNESSES ATTO R N EY July 17, 1923.

Filed Abril v29 1920 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 1920 6 Sheets-Sheet 4- INVENTOR ATTOR N EY Juil/17,1923. l

ko'. BOYER CORN HUSKER Filed April'zs Ef W WY mGv kk www r Nk Y .Sv kww 9 |11 O I. s o Q ---..NHH,.W 1.-. m. www o O |w||||||||l|m|||mw|. mUHHHMHMHMIMMMMFMHHH o WN N O N w o o l i l l 1 HH Nw MQ O /1 e mw July 17, 1923.

1,461,748 o. BOYER CORN HUSKER Filed April 29 1920 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 WITN ESSES ATTO RN EY 1,461,748 o. BOYER 1 CORN HSKEH July 17, 1923.

Filed April 29 [1920 e sheets-Shakers x .w -LEZ y1 MM 1,1 ,1 1 l EN.-. U ww., km@ o .ma WM l mw Mw... mw Mw 1 -d WITNESSES ATTO RN EY machine.v` u v Fig. 3 1s anelevationfrom the side oppo-` I to gepast the.rotary divider atv a time',`

Patented .luly i7, 1923. l

L UNITED STAT es ATENT orettoLrva Borna', or SPENCRVILLE, oirro. i

CORN HUSKER.

. Application filed April 29, 1920. Serial No. 377,547'.

I 1/ '0 all yw hof/1t 'it may concern Be it known that I, `OLIVERBovini,` a citi- Zen of; the United States, residing at bpencerville,` in the county of'Allen and `State of Ohio7 have invented anew and useful Corn Husker, of which the following is" a spec iication. y

This inventioni relates to corn huslrers. The objects of the invention are to provide amachine which will remove the ears from1the stalks, husk theears withoutk ma terially shelling the cor-n, shred the stalks,

recover any shelled corn icarried" along by the stalks,A and deliver the. fodder to a stacking mechanism;

Another ob'ect is to provide in a corn husker means for dividing the bundlespf corn into tivo parts so that the snapping` rolls cannot bechoked. u

.fi further object 1ste provide a corn lhuskerhaving a novel form of snapping rolls which are so mountedas to yield to `eX-` oessve feed without dangeroffbreakage of parts.. y 1` Y V i .y .p

An additional object viste provide im-` proved meanspforcatching and saving all` the Aaccompanying drawingsformng part` of this' speciiication, `withthe understanding, however, that the invention is not confined toany strict conformity with the showing iny theA dra-wings', but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modilicationsV mark no material departure from the salient features ofthe invention as expressed inhthe appended claims. i

In `the dra-wingszf- AFig. l is a side elevationof amachine enr. bodying the principles of the present i'nvention;

Fig. A2` thereof looking from the same side of the siteto 'that' shown in Fig: l.

Fig.' 4t is a top plan view. f

Fia `and theirmountingfon-the frame. i

isy a longitudinal,sectional viewv 5 is a detail of thehsnappingrolls rains liig.` 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section of one of the snapping rolls.

. Fig. 7 is a section on the line7--7of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a detail partly in cross ksectionl ofthe husking rolls and their vmounting upon the frame.` y i `Fig. 9 is a section` onthe line 9-9 of FigzvS. i, i H

The numeral l0 denotes the main framel of the ,machine which may take any form desired, and7 not forming an e'ssentialfpart of the invention,v will not bedescribedin detail. Secured to the frame .at the forward end thereof is a pair offeeding inlines ll,` on either side ofa feeding conveyer` running longitudinally therewith, as seen in Fig. 4.` A feed table may be provided at the forward end of the machine to cooperate with the inclines 11, but such-ga feed table being common in nearly alltypes of `corn huskers is not illustrated in; the,

drawings. ,s i i The fecdingvconveyerhas seen injFigs. 2 and 4, comprises ya plurality of sprockets 13 wth which chains, ltare f meshed,` ,saidj chains carrying `spaced transversely extend-` ing flights 15 which may have ,the form of angle irons.

A horizontal platform 12'supffportsthe `feeding conveyer between the ends thereof.

ingy conveyer and in spaced-r relation thereto is aqbu'ndle divider comprising a cylinder 16 having a plurality ofk arms 17 running longitudinally therewith. The arms 117v may be four in number and have blunt outery edges,` being setV radially withr respect to the `cylinder 16. f The bearing block 1S in which the ends ofthe cylinder `rotate'may move vertically in frames-19. VHthin each frame y i is ai coiled spring 20 bearing yat one endy Mounted abovethe inner end; of they feediagainst the bea-ring block 18: and' at the i y other end against the tension regulator 20a.' `This bundle divider isz rotated at a4 speed such that .its linear velocity is approximately one-third less than thelinear velocity of the f feeding' conveyer,`-tlnisthe bundledivider is' iny effect a retarder for, the bundles ofcorn` carried into the vmachine byV the" feeding conveyer.l This retarding YactionV of "the ico bundle divider-permits only halfjofl a bundled i or in othergwords by the*slowermovementof and be engaged by the snapping rolls. If

the corn is very heavy, the divider will rise against the pressure of the springs 20, and thus prevents anyv possible breakage of parts, and will immediately return to its lower position when conditions become-nor# mal again. .l Y

The frame is provided lwith opposed walls v 22 rising from the'top thereof,l -which'- walls,

in'conn'ection with the snapping rolls and 1 with the bundle dividing element7 provide what might be termed an ear-separating chamber. The bundle divider rotates substantially within this chamber `and said chamberv is closed Aat the top `by a swingable cover 23 having a bar 24.- along its free edge adapted to 'rest on theupper edges of the walls 22..` `This cover 23 may be swung out of the wayso that an operator may reach down into the ear-separating chamber in case the mechanisms therein become clogged. v y

f A plurality ofy snapping rolls, normally parallel to each other and set in an auxiliary frame 25 at an angle approximately sixty degrees with 'respect to the horizontal,

' are provided on thatendl of the ear-separatpair andan outer pair. The outer pair hasA ingxchamber oppositey to where the feeding conveyer enters; The particular construction of these snapping rolls is best shown in:` Figs. 5, 6 and 7; There may be any number of these snappingrolls but there should be at least four comprising an inner movable bearing blocks 26 which are guided bythe frame 25 and have spindles 27 rotatable, in said. blocks. Springs 28 are scoured atone end of the frame 25 and at the lother lend press against the bearing blocks26. The parts so far described are duplicated in thevlower auxiliary frame 25n vhaving the, slidable bearing blocks 26a.

The springs 28aact in unison with the springs 28 tonormally maintain the outer snapping rolls 29 rolls 30. I Y l The innerrolls '30 .have spindles 3l rotatable inthe upper and lower auxiliary frames 25 and 25a.` These inner rolls are y separated by a ixed interval and have no movement other than a rotary movement.'-

The'ilower ends ofthe spindles 3l are-secured to bevel gears y32 meshing with bevel gears 33 mounted on -a' 'shaft 39 running transversely `of fthe machine and having bearings in the frame thereof. The shaft 1 39 vis power driven by means to' be described. lThefoute'r rolls 29 have bevel pressing against the adjaoent'inner y gears 34 connected at the lower ends with the spindles 27 and meshing with -bevel gears 35 slidably mounted on the shaft 39. The bevel gears 35 are mounted so as to also rotate with the shaft 39 and with similar lbevel gears 33. An arm 36 connectseach bevel gear35 with the corresponding bearing block 26a, so that whatever the'movement of these bearing blocks may be the gears 34 and 35are atv all times vin mesh.v

Thus the outer rolls 29 may separate from the inner rolls 30 movingftoward the outside of the machine and .yet will be driven irrespective of their positions.

Eachv of the snapping` rolls is lprovided with a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves each of which comprises a relatively wide portion 37 and a relatively narrow: portion 38, `both :portions being of and 38, the feeding and snapping actionv of the rolls would be veryv feeble since any excessive pressure will force the rolls apart in view of the spring-held bearings in which the ends of `the `rolls are 'ournaled The cooperating edges of the wi e slots 37 in adjacent snapping rollsact as jaws telforciblyv grip the incoming` ends ,of the corn stalks and-` start the feeding of the stalks through the rolls.` Because of the inclination of the snapping rolls and the force of gravity, the stalks `gradually work downwardly between the rolls where the narrow slots 38 are formed. The slots 38, although narrower vthan the slot 37, are sufficiently wide to grip the stalks and pull them through the rolls while snapping the ears olf, but not wide enough to grip the ears of corn and shell them. If the stalks were drawn throughl the rolls where the wide slots areformed, the edges of the slots would grip the ears of corn and shell them' instead of snapping them oif 'from the stalks. The snapping Aor ear-separating chamber has a pivotally mounted apron or deflectorv 42 extending upwardly fromjthe lower end thereof lat an inclination 'with the,

upper end of ytheapron bearing against the lower auxiliary frame 25a immediately below the lower ends of the snapping rolls. This apron guides the'ears ofv corn snapped `off by lthe rolls down to husking 'rolls' below;A

Reference` should be made particularly to Figs'. 8 and 9 for an understanding of the construction ofzthese husking rolls.

1in-temas may be of any desired number and have at least one inner pair 62 fixed relatively and an outer pair 63 movable Withrespect toy theinner pair. An auxiliary frame 65 is provided to support tlie'upperen'ds of the inclined' husking rolls 62, 63;. The inner rolls 62 have bearings fixed upony this'` frame 65, while the outer rolls 63y have the slidable bearing blocks 64 guideduby the frame 65; Coiled springs 66 bear. at one end against the frame 65 and at the other end against the4 corresponding bearing block 64C.v

\ Two of the inner rolls 62 have bevel gears52 fixed upon the upperends thereof, which bevel gears mesh with bevel gears 51 provided on a transverse shaft having bean ings on the main frame of the mach-ine; The

shaft 50 constitutes! a driving sha-ft. for the husking rolls and is' rotated by means to ybe described. The lower ends' of the fixed in ner 'husking rollsturn in' ai lowerauxiliary frame 67 which is disposed with `respect to the upper auxiliary frame so that the husking rolls will lie at an incliney slightly out of the horizontal of perhaps fifteen degrees. The lower auxiliary frame 6T carries springs 69 like the springs 66, and the lower ends' of theouter rolls 63 turn in slidable` bearings 68'A providedI on the aux#L iliary frame 67. Gears'() are secured to each of the rolls 62, 63- at` the lower `ends thereof below the lower frainef 67.1 The gear-S70 provide' means'vwheieby each of the driven inner rolls 62 in turn rotates the adjacent outer roll 63'; i s

The husking rolls are alike in being provided with4 a `plurality of' rows of pins 7l projecting` fromy the `pei'ipheries thereof'.

rThese pins are arranged in longitudinal rows and the pins o'f` the"` outer rolls are staggered with respect' to"` the pins of the inner roll. The pins of eachk roll` enter in- The rolls are all rotatec'l at the saiifiespeed and 'the pins catch hold of thehusks-of' the ears and tearthein loose therefrom, delivering` dividual slots 72 inthe adjacent' roll.

them upon a c-onveyer below while not' causing any considerable shelling of the corn. lf the feed of the corn is heavy, the outer rollswillV separate from` the inner rolls, thus permitting the husks to `drop below without allowing the ears to pass. n

In order to insure the proper travelof the earsA down the inclined husking ioll afcon# veyer lis provided'abovevthe husking roll'sl extending for s substantially theentirelength thereof'. This-lcon'if'efyer 43'! being made precisely like the feeding conveyer, above de-v scribed", it is nottli-ought necessary to enter into a'detaileddescription' of tliesanie. The i flights of the conveyerl have the necessary minimum speed'f to' hold the. ears` upon the huslring` rollsA long, enough.' to insure lclean also' acts to force the earsdown the rolls and prevent any clogging or piling up ot the same. f

Mounted directlybelow the husking rolls is ay coiiveyer 7e whiclris parallel to the' rolls and catches' all the husksk and shelled coin dropped by the rolls. This conveyer in construction is exactly like the feeding conveyer previously described. It passes over an inclined platform 73 provided for the purpose of catching the kernels which may be shelledby thehusking rolls. The flights of the conveyer 74 moving over the platform 73 deliver this corn, together with the husks7 to-an oscillatorykernel. separator 85. i p c `Mounted directly in rear of the snapping". rolls `isy a. fixed apron 82 appropriately shaped to deliver the fodder in al downward conveyer and Ll, comprises a plurality of Adisks 83`iipon which aresecuredfspiral knives 84C having' p serrations or teeth, as shown. The shredder takes the fodder delivered on the rearfsideofthe snapping rolls and tears the saine particularly because` of the `spiral knives employed.

The fodder whichispassed by the snapping rolls=and cutby the shreddermay contain af'sinall amount ofy shelled corn. Also the husking rolls will inevitably shell a liti tle ofthe corn', the conveyer Tl being' royvided'to recover the kernels as specied.

The husks carrying along with them this shelled corn and the fodder from the shredder also carrying with it the shelled corn an incline and being approximately parallel with the husking rolls and with the conveyer 74", [although having its lower endy beneath the discharging or upper end of-said conveyerf.' "The body' 85. fhasa" plurality of spaced slats 86 extending transversely thereof, openings 87 being providedbetween each@ slats andthe slats all inclining upijvardlyf arel delivered upon a shaking oscillatory l This oscillatory' i toward the rear of theniachine." Links 91H y pivoted' at their-upper endsupon the main frarnefofftheI machine and pivotally connected at?! their lower end to the upper end of"y the body 85 moya-bly. support that end .gz l y 1,461,748

of the separator.l Cooperating links 92 pivoted at their lower ends upon Vthe frame 10" and -pivotally secured at their uppeiI ends to the lower ends of the separator cooperate with the links 91to provide a mounting kfor the separator such vthat the separator` may have an oscillatory and lrocking motion imparted thereto. A link 81 is pivotally securedto the bottom 88 of the `separator 85, and at its outer end is mounted upon a crank 80 formed in a shaft 79 ruiming crosswise of the machine. This 'shaftx is rotated by means to be presently described. The bottom 88 of the separator 85 has inclined walls 89 and an opening 90., The. kernelsr sepa-rated by the-shaking motion of the bodyl as the fodder andl husks move overthe slats 86 fall through the openings 87 fand upon the bottom 88 or inclines 89, ultimately being delivered out through the opening 90.` l! vibratoryscreen 94 is disposed directly below the .separat-or member .85., This vibratoryscreen is mounted upon links like thek links 91 and upon other links 96 corresponding to the links The inclinerof the vibrator-y screen 94 is, l1owevers opposite to the` incline of the separator'S; Links 93`pivotally connected `to each link 9:2 and, also to the vibratory screen member 94 provide means whereby every oscillation of the,

separator 85will,bring about alike `oscillation ofthe screen,vv though offless degree. Ther mesh of the screeny of member 94 is suiiicient to v,pass all lthe .kernels o.t`corn dropped through `the opening 9.0 but will not permit'chaif and bits of husks or fodder to passitherethrough. The vibratory screen member has an inclined bottom 97" which causes the corn dropped Vthrough the screen to move forwardly with respect to the machine, ,an inclined; lip 98 being provided at the forward 'end of the `bottom portion 97.` rlhe shaking `of this s'creenymember separates the kernels from 'the chaff, `forces the kernels forwardly -of the machine and the chafl rearwardly of `the machine.

Theshelled corn dropped from the d own ,y turned lip 98 .falls into a box 99.y directly below ysaid lip7 which boxhousesespiralA conveyer 100. This spiral conveyer is rotated. when th-e machine is in operation, and

delivers the shelled corn at one end oflthe box where it may fall into a receptacle placed below. y y f yA fan casing 106houses a fan 105 extend# ing transversely of the vmachine, and fixed' toashaft 104. Thefaii casing 106'has ap`l proXiinately thesame length as the width of the vibratory rscreen element 94 and has ya Anozzle or month 107 so shaped as to direct the draftfrom the lfan into said screen mems ber below `the screen top thereof. The mouth 107 is spaced from the downturned lip 98 and the `draft from the fan doeslnotpre- `vent iassae of the kernels down Ithe incline 97 'as the screen;` members are vibrated. The fanblows the chaff off the screenunember but is not strong 'enough to blow the kernels along with the chaff,with the result that 'the kernels `are passed by the sreeen while the chalfvjis delivered at the rear of themas. chine. free ofall kernels. i

- The fodder passed rearwardly by the oscillating conveyer 85 and the chaff blown rearf andrv througha stacker 118. f The stacker ben ing of well known construction and forming no part of the present invention is not fur'- ther described.

The means by which the different elements ofthe ymachine vare actuated will now be, de-V scribed,` A ,main drive pulleyV 61 receives power by means of a belt from an engine or motor Vof suitable character. This pulley is fixed -upon a shaft 55 to which the shredder attached. Upon the same end' ofthe shaft 56 with the main drive pulley 61 isa smaller pulley 57. vThepuiley 57 drives the blower pulley 59 by means of, abelt 587 the blower pulley 59 being secured to the blower shaft 50.` A gear55 is Valso secured to the-.shaft Y 56 (see Fig. 4,), `this gear meshingwith an idler 5 4 in turn meshing with a gear 41 provided on one endnof the shaft39 whichdrives 'the snapV` rolls, as `has been `described.

The'endcf the shaft l56 remote from the main driving pulley 61 has ajsmaller pulley 110, anda'belt109 connects the pulley 110l with` a pulley 108driving the shaft 104 ofy the fan 105. The' opposite end of shaft10-l carries a small pulley 103 drivingipulley 101 by means of belt 102, the pulley v101 being fixed to .the spiral conveyer 100.

The end of shaft 89 remote from vthe gear 41 carries a gear '40 meshing with another gear 53 secured upon the shaft' 50 which drives the huskingfrolla as has been de-L scribed. The end of shaft 50 remote from gear 58 carries a sprocket 49, and chain 48 meshes with sprocket49 and withthe larger sprocket 47. The sprocket 47 is secured to a shaft 13 to which the innersprockets 13 lare fastened. The sprockets A13, it will be remembered, carry the yfeeding` conveyer.

i A. small sprocket 45 (see Fig.J 4) is `also mounted on the shaftlato drive a larger sprocket 44 by means of a chain rlhe sprocket 44 in turn vdrives the conveyer 48 in the directionV indicated. -The shaft, `to which sprocket44 is secured has pulley 120 at the opposite endy driving lpulley 21 by means of a belt 119.(see Fig. 3);k thus the bundledivider `is rotated. v

1 The same shaf-tthat carries gear 53 also carries at the same end a pulley 111, which lilf lio

lill) ypulley drives another pulley 113 by means of belt 112 (see Fig. Pulley 113 is mounted on shaft 79 mounted on the lower part of frame 10 and having` the sprocket 78 at the opposite end thereof. `Sprocket 78 is connected with sprocket 76 by means of chain 77, the sprocket 76 being fast to shaft 7 5, which, when rotated, operates conveyer 74. The shaft 79 has a crank 8O intermediate its length and to this crank a link 81 is secured., thus when the shaft 7 9 is rotated its motion will be translated into oscillatory movement by link 81 which will in turn transmit its motion to the shaking separator 85. 1When the separator 85 oscillates, the screen 94; moves therewith, as has been noted.

The above described means for operating the different parts of the machine in unison are only given as one example of many possible combinations of mechanical parts which might be employed and the invention is considered to be independent of any particular arrangement of pulleys or gearing which might be devised. It should be clear from the foregoing that the ear corn is delivered out from the spout 121 at the forward end of the machine, the shelled corn is delivered out of one end of the box 99, while the husks, fodder and chaff are delivered at the proximately half the length of the roll.

3. In a corn husker, a plurality of snapping rolls arranged side by side in a position inclined with respect to the vertical. each roll having a plurality of longitudinal grooves and each groove comprising a relatively wide portion and a relatively narrow portion.

4. In a corn husker, a plurality of snapping rolls arranged side by side in a position inclined with respect to the vertical, a conveyer adapted to feed corn stalks toward the upper ends of said rolls, each roll having a plurality of longitudinal grooves, and each groove comprising a relatively wide portion extending to the upper end of the roll and a relatively narrow portion extending to the lower end of the roll.

5. In a corn husker, a plurality of snapping rolls, a conveyer adapted to feed corn stalks toward the upper ends of said rolls,

the snapping rolls being inclined with respect to the vertical, each roll having a plurality of longitudinal grooves, and each groove comprising a relatively wide portion and a relatively narrow portion with the wide portionvof each groove extending i for approximately half the length of the roll.

6. In a corn husker, a feeding conveyer, a. plurality of snapping rolls set side by side in a plane inclined out of the vertical with the lower ends of the rolls approximately on a level with the conveyer and spaced from the inner end of the conveyer, a plurality of husking rolls set side by side in a plane inclined out of the horizontal and below the feeding conveyer, means on the uppwer portions of the snapping rolls for gripping the stalks, and means on the lower portions of the rolls for snapping the ears.

7. In acorn husker, a feeding conveyer, a bundle divider, a plurality of snapping rolls set side by side inclined at an angle `from the vertical and provided with a plurality of slots of different widths, whereby the fodder is first gripped and partially drawn inwardly by the upper portions of the rolls and then drawn inwardly for the rest of their length and the ears of corn snapped therefrom by the lower portions of the rolls.

8. In a corn husker, a plurality of inclined snapping rolls having driving pinions secured to their lower ends, a plurality of inclined husking rolls below the snapping rolls and having driving pinions secured to their upper ends, a pair of inter geared countershafts in driving relation to the pinions of the respective rolls, and an apron for directing the ears from the lower ends of the snapping rolls to the upper ends of the husking rolls and forming a guard for said gearing.

9. In a corn husker, a plurality of pairs of snapping rolls, a plurality of pairs of husking rolls in position to receive ears of corn fed from the snapping rolls, the two outer snapping rolls being movable with respect to the inner adjacent snapping rolls, the two outer husking rolls being movable relatively to the adjacent inner husking rolls, means for normally maintainingthe outer snapping rolls pressed against the as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature.

OLIVER BOYER. 

